Everyone should know that sexual harassment isn’t to be tolerated in the workplace. Yet, on a daily basis, Texans are subjected to inappropriate jokes, comments, sexual advances and sexual assault that render their workplaces dangerous.
Sometimes this harassment also leads to adverse employment decisions, such as when a worker is demoted or receives fewer hours for declining a sexual advance. In other instances, workers are retaliated against when they report the harassing behavior in question. All of this is illegal and actionable, which is why it’s imperative that you know your rights and how to act on them to protect your interests.
That starts with understanding the reporting process. When you’ve been subjected to sexual harassment, you should report it to your employer so that they can step in to help bring the behavior to a stop. Reporting harassment also creates a record of your attempts to secure workplace safety. If your employer then retaliates against you or fails to protect you, you can rely on your reporting to take legal action.
How long do you have to report sexual harassment?
To ensure that you’re protecting yourself as much as possible, you need to report the sexual harassment in a timely fashion. Under Texas law, you have 300 days from the date of the last incident of sexual harassment to file your complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission. If applicable, you can also file your claim of sexual harassment with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 300 days of the harassing behavior.
What does this mean for you? It means that you need to act quickly to gather evidence of sexual harassment and draft a compelling claim that can be filed. You can talk to witnesses, detail your interactions in a journal and gather and retain written correspondence that you’ve had with your employer. By being thorough in the lead up to the filing of your claim, you can better position yourself for corrective action. You might also put yourself in a strong position to recover compensation for the harm that’s been caused to you.
Who can be held liable for sexual harassment?
Texas law has changed in the recent past to allow you to hold entities with one or more employee accountable for sexual harassment. You can also take action against a person who acts directly in the interests of your employer. This expansion of the law incorporates most businesses. So, don’t make the mistake of thinking that you won’t have legal recourse against your employer simply because they’re smaller.
Gather evidence of the sexual harassment?
To obtain the best outcome possible, you need to gather evidence of the harassment in question. Detail as much as you can in a written format shortly after it occurs so that you don’t lose your vivid memory of the event. Also, be sure to talk to witnesses and see if they’ll give you a written account of what they observed. Be as thorough as possible here so that you have as much evidence supporting your claim as possible.
Act now to find accountability for the sexual harassment perpetrated upon you
We know it can be hard to think about taking legal action in the aftermath of sexual harassment. You might be embarrassed, concerned about your reputation and worried about the uncertainty of the process. But the law is here to protect you. You just have to gather the courage to stand up to have your voice heard. While that can be scary, you can find support to help you get through this tough time and come out the other side stronger.